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August 20, 2011

Mangled Meat By Edward Lee Review

If you read horror then I'm sure you've heard of Edward Lee. Known as the godfather of gore and writer of all things deviant, Mr. Lee has written many short stories in his illustrious career. This one, Mangled Meat, features a trilogy of short stories.

First we have The Decortication Technician. This one is more sci-fi than horror and is, in my opinion, the weakest of the three. A team of people are to crack open what seems to be an abandoned space craft. It's a nice enough story, but every sentence uses several technical terms (whether real or imaginary) and/or abbreviations (again, real or imaginary) and it's very jarring. Imagine being lectured by a NASA engineer who can only use space jargon. Not very nice.

Getting better is the second story, Cyesolagniac. This one is more like it. Short, sleazy, sick and has a nice twist ending. Poor Heyton is a bit of a deviant, and is addicted to pregnant women. Trawling a red light district he can't believe his luck when a hot pregnant hooker gets in his car. This one shows why many horror/gore fans read Lee's work.

Last, but not least, is Room 415 which is about a guy who is mentally affected by his ex-wife. So much so that he is unable to orgasm as memories of his ex flash into his mind and cause him to wilt. Indulging in some voyeurism he sees a hooker getting a sound beating which, he realizes, really turns him on and does make him orgasm! Disgusted that he came, rather than call the police, he investigates the rooms occupants. This one doesn't really have any gore, as such, but does show that Lee can write a good detective story.

Another good anthology from Lee I think. Room 415 had more feeling and atmosphere than the other two, but in sickness value Cyesolagniac wins.